Kelly Ripa Picks Ryan Seacrest as Brand New ‘Live’ Co-Host

Kelly Ripa has found her new Live!co-captain — after nearly a year of flying solo, she's landed on Ryan Seacrest as her new partner in crime, she announced on this morning's (May 1) show.

"Today is a very good day," Ripa said, adding it's also her wedding anniversary.

"I couldn't be more excited to be here with you," Seacrest added. "It's gonna be a busy year."

Seacrest said he struggled to keep the announcement secret recently, and even had to duck in his car to avoid paparazzi as he entered the studio this morning.

Ripa, who announced via Twitter on Sunday (April 30) that she planned to make the big announcement on Live's May 1 episode, has spent recent months welcoming guest hosts like Andy Cohen and Anderson Cooper to sit beside her at the morning show's desk. Seacrest has guest co-hosted five times since Ripa's former co-host Michael Strahan left Live abruptly in early 2016 to take on a new role at Good Morning America.

Seacrest will continue to host his nationally syndicated iHeartMedia radio shows and serve as a personality for NBC and E!. CNN adds that Live! has built a studio for Seacrest so that he can more efficiently keep things rolling.

Strahan's exit caused waves last year, and reportedly blindsided Ripa. Ripa immediately took off a few days from filming and, upon her return, chided ABC for mishandling the announcement. She claimed that she was the last to know about Strahan's move, and said its rollout was proof the network had work to do with respect to transparency.

“…Sometimes when you are so comfortable with somebody, you may not give them the same consideration as somebody you’re not as comfortable with — a certain formality falls away,” she later told People. “When you’re dealing with big business, it’s easy to forget that you’re dealing with people and that people have feelings. It’s easy to just look at it like a business unit, a unit, a unit.”